


Through Kindness and Obstacles

by ragnelleloathly



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative Universe - Animal Shelter, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-02 21:33:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragnelleloathly/pseuds/ragnelleloathly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin liked cats but he also liked his cute barista (not actually his, yet). But Arthur was fucking strange and too noble for his own good. Merlin's cats (sadly, also not his) weren't too happy with this part of him either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through Kindness and Obstacles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GeekLover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekLover/gifts).



> Happy holidays geekslave/GeekLover. I hope I've managed to do your prompt list justice with this fic. Thanks to the mods for being very forthcoming and thanks to my amazing beta S.

The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine was blaring loudly in the coffeeshop and Merlin had to bite the inside of his cheek to suppress his laugh. Arthur was definitely irritated now. He was smiling, nodding at a petite woman in a trenchcoat with perfect blonde curls, Vivian, who listed her outrageously long coffee order, like she did every tuesday.

Merlin sat close enough to hear Vivian telling Arthur off for putting too much milk in her coffee. Arthur gave her a toothy smile but Merlin noticed that the smile didn’t reach his eyes, but more than that, his left eye was already twitching in annoyance. Arthur took a tiny step to his left and turned the music just a bit louder; his fake smile became wider.

When Merlin came here for the first time three months ago to put Morgana’s vouchers to good use, she'd told him that whenever Arthur felt like ripping a customer’s head off, he’d put on this song. Needless to say, the song was playing when Merlin got his espresso order and complained about getting a girly latte art in the form of a heart, a lopsided one even. The cage holding Kilgharrah on the chair next to him rattled and Kilgharrah managed to squeeze one of his paws through the bars and pawed at Arthur who walked towards their table, juggling a tray with a single coffee cup. Kilgharrah had never showed any interest in anyone before besides Aithusa but Aithusa herself was also a cat. Merlin poked Kilgharrah’s nose through the bars. Merlin might have thought twice about taking him had he known the cat would be so ungrateful.

“Stupid cat, you barely tolerate me but you’re all over Arthur.”

Merlin wondered if Arthur had given the tabby cat magic tummy rubs. Kilgharrah went crazy whenever his tummy got rubbed, purring obscenely and stretching himself all over the place. What a silly cat.

 

“Your order, Merlin.”

"I didn’t order this.“

Merlin wrinkled his nose when Arthur placed a cup of pumpkin spice in front of him, the sweet smell of the cinnamon stick covered up by the wafting smell of pumpkin.

Merlin made a retching noise.

Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled the chair in front of Merlin back to sit down. “It’s on me so don’t be a dick. Just drink it, alright?”

Putting up with Vivian was certainly draining. Seriously, who demanded that the whipped cream had to twist a certain way? Merlin put his book down and reached over to give Arthur a sympathetic pat on the head.

“Go back and make me the espresso I ordered.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes, giving him the same look that Kilgharrah bestowed upon Merlin every time he grabbed him with the intention of bathing him. Fortunately Arthur didn’t have any claws, just a potty mouth.

“Piss off, I’m on my well-deserved break.” Arthur groaned and slumped back on his chair but not before grabbing the coffee and drinking the pumpkin spice himself. “You used to be so sweet, whatever happened to cute little Merlin? Bloody Morgana must have rubbed off on you.”

Merlin frowned. “Don’t call me ‘little’.” He absolutely loathed it when Arthur referred to him as ‘little’. Arthur barely treated him as anything more than a kid since the first time they met. Sure, he was younger by three years but Merlin also had an inch or two on him. Shouldn't that nullify the teeny tiny age difference between them?

“Alright.” Arthur reached over and ruffled his hair. Again, treating him like a child, and Merlin glared. But his body had to go and betray him; his cheeks turned pink when Arthur’s thumb brushed lightly over his forehead. And that right there always confused Merlin. Whenever Arthur passed him his order on the counter, or pat his shoulder, his touches lingered just a bit too long to be casual. Merlin thought it might have been his imagination since he was the one with a giant crush, but lately Arthur was the one taking his order. Which wouldn't seem very strange at first, but Arthur’s tuesday shift aside, their schedules barely met up and it was Gwaine who usually served him. But now, Arthur was there on the other two days Merlin came over as well. Very strange indeed.

“Have you heard anything about Kilgharrah being adopted?”

Arthur dangled his keys in front of Kilgharrah’s cage, eliciting a joyous noise from the cat. Well, actually it was just a simple meow but Merlin spent so much time with the cats in the shelter that he occasionally found himself understanding Kilgharrah as if the cat and him actually shared the same language.

He curled his lips. “No, nothing. Apparently, Kilgharrah is too moody and cold for them.” Merlin eyed the pumpkin spice in front of him, the whipped cream swamped to one side after Arthur had drained a good portion of the coffee. He reached over the table to it and snuck a sip.

“Oi!”

Merlin crinkled his nose in disgust as he gulped the sugary sweet concoction down, knowing that Arthur would surely complain if he spit it back into the cup. Disgusting... He wondered how Arthur could like these drinks. He only ever saw Arthur drinking coffee with way too much milk and sugar, turning the coffee a very light brown color that in his opinion was all wrong. Merlin was pretty sure he could poke Arthur's coffee with a fork and wouldn't be able to reach the bottom with the mound of sugar settled.

He pulled a face, still tasting the pumpkin and cinnamon on his tongue. “How the hell did you get yourself this job if you can’t even drink proper coffee, Arthur?”

Arthur gave him a cheeky grin. “My father owns the Tintagel chain.”

Right, there was that.

 

 

Morgana had sent him to walk with Morgause’s puppies while she took care of Morgause’s new litter. Really, could Morgause get any stranger? Who named a dog after themselves and gave it to their sister before taking off to travel around the world? And the creepy thing was that the dog had an uncanny resemblance to its namesake, personality-wise that was. Merlin shuddered when he remembered dog-Morgause circling around him back when he started volunteering in the shelter, pawing at his legs before deeming him good enough, then jumping over furniture and laying down next to Morgana with the frightening grace of the cat. If he thought about it, dog-Morgause might have been better off as a cat than the pretty and unassuming golden retriever everyone thought of her at first glance. Merlin sighed.

Morgause’s offsprings were nothing like their mother; they tended to get overexcited pretty easily and always managed to get their snouts stuck in every nook and cranny around. Right now, they were happily chasing each other’s tails in the park while Merlin sat in the grass, the sun shining as he lazed about. He didn’t remember dozing off but when Merlin failed to feel the warming rays of the sun on his face, he dragged his arm over his eyes to rub at them, faintly aware of golden fur in his peripheral.

Merlin clawed at air until he finally managed to grab hold of the puppy, probably Elena, and petted its head. Strangely, the fur felt rather smooth and straight. “Alright, alright. I’m going to play fetch with you now.”

“I hope you don’t expect me to chase and catch a stick with my mouth.”

Suddenly, Merlin was wide awake and he turned his face so fast that he might fear for whiplash but he couldn’t care less about that at the moment.

“Arthur!”

It wasn’t Elena who was trying to get his attention, but Arthur. Arthur, who grinned down at him before ruffling his hair affectionately, dressed simply in a red t-shirt and black sweatpants. Merlin should have noticed that it wasn’t one of the dogs; his arm had stretched far too wide to grasp hold of the dog’s fur for such a young and small animal.

“Lazing around, are we, Merlin?” Arthur did his stretches on the spot, perfectly in view for Merlin. Merlin used this chance to blatantly stare at an Arthur in his free time who wasn’t dressed in his formal work clothes consisting of a white button up shirt and black trousers. Merlin thought this colour suited him much more, as did the light sheen of sweat on his neck and collarbones.

He almost forgot to reply, so caught up in the lovely view, his eyes chasing the drops of sweat that disappeared down Arthur’s shirt.

“’Course not. I’m taking the dogs out for a walk. Speaking of the dogs,” Merlin turned and twisted, looking around himself for Elena and Mithian, “Where are they?”

“You mean these two pranksters?” Arthur pointed over his shoulder towards the benches and sure enough, the girls were stapling themselves over each other, always trying to be on top of the other. Merlin sighed with relief.

Arthur passed him a drink, coffee of course, and Merlin grabbed at it shakily which thankfully went unnoticed as Arthur happily sipped at the can of orange juice that he'd probably grabbed from a vending machine. Being outside the shop and alone with Arthur threw him a bit off. All the sassy retorts and confidence that he usually displayed vanished on the spot and what was left of Merlin was clammy hands and nervousness. He took a sip, and felt a surge of happiness go through him when he realized that Arthur had remembered his favourite. He bit his lip to prevent the face splitting smile threatening to break out, not wanting to scare Arthur off. He’d probably think him deranged grinning like an idiot over coffee.

“So what are these two called?” Arthur pointed with his can at the pups.

“Arthur #2 and Arthur #3.” Merlin finally realized why he thought it was Elena that was blocking the sun from him; Arthur’s hair and the pups’ fur had the exact shading of gold when hit by the light. They also felt almost the same when petted.

“Are you for real?” Arthur looked at him with disbelief.

“Being her brother, you do realize that Morgana has a dog named after her sister, right?”

Arthur blinked, turning his head left and right. “Right. So where’s Arthur #1?”

“Obviously you’re m—the number one.” Merlin panicked a little on the inside when he noticed his slip, and he thought he'd caught himself in time but alas Arthur’s face told him otherwise.

“I’m your number one, eh?” Arthur leered, gesturing down his body with a wide gesture. “Can’t fault you for having fantastic taste.”

Merlin’s face flushed with embarrassment and he looked down to his hands. He rubbed his sweaty hands discreetly on his jeans just to do something. He looked at Arthur, who was still beaming at him. And unlike him, Arthur was perfectly calm and still smiling over Merlin’s slip but he also wasn’t the one harbouring a hopeless crush. Merlin’s eyes strayed downwards and widened when he noticed the time on Arthur’s watch.

“Damn! I need to go now.” He'd meant to go back earlier, afraid that Aithusa might have another episode coming. Aithusa’s condition wasn’t fatal or something that would require her to be rushed to the vet often but Merlin still fussed over her, fearing that she wouldn’t wake up from one of her sudden naps. Merlin called the straying pups back to him to get the leashes on them. The one time he could be with Arthur outside of the shop and he could neither enjoy nor appreciate it. But maybe he could if they had a second time.

Merlin stopped in his tracks and turned his head over his shoulder. “Do you want to come over tomorrow to visit Kilgharrah?”

Arthur looked at him with surprise before he gave him a brilliant smile. “Sure, if I’m not a bother.”

 

 

Arthur looked all kinds of uncomfortable standing before all the animals in their cages and Merlin had to bite back a laugh when one of the free roaming cats slipped between his legs, making Arthur jump in surprise.

Merlin decided to take him out of his misery and grabbed his hand. “Come with me. I want you to meet someone special. Kilgharrah is napping, so we probably shouldn’t bother him anyway.”

 

“When you said someone special, you meant her?” Arthur was at a loss for words and could only stare down at the small cat in his lap; she'd curled up into a ball, looking more like a furry white pillow than the kitten she actually was. He brought his hand down to lightly pet her back and Aithusa consequently purred in pleasure, her whole body vibrating when Arthur began to pet her in earnest.

“Meet Aithusa”, Merlin said softly. He reached down into his back pocket and pulled a battered submarine toy forth. “See? I think you two are perfect together!”

As if on cue, Aithusa’s ears twitched and she got up from where she lay and stretched her whole body out. Her legs dangled down Arthur’s thighs, pawing at her favourite toy. She stilled for a moment and Merlin feared it might be one of her episodes and she’d fall to the side unconscious. Merlin sighed with relief when he realized that it was only her predatory side coming out, waiting for her prey in ambush to attack; she was in luck, for Merlin worried long enough that Aithusa had enough time to snatch the toy from him.

“Morgana told me she was narcoleptic. Is it very serious?”

Merlin quickly grew somber. When he had first found Aithusa, abandoned and covered in dirt near the tube station, he ran as fast as he could to the vet. But when he brought her to Gaius, she wobbled a few steps forward on the examination table before slumping down to her side. Merlin had thought he hadn't gotten her there in time. “We took precautions and as long as she gets her medicine and doesn’t exhaust herself too much, she should be fine.”

This was probably the wrong thing to say as Arthur looked at him with panicked eyes. “Then isn’t what we’re doing here rather counter-productive?” And Arthur actually snatched the submarine toy from out of Aithusa’s paw and threw it wide away, only to hug her close to his chest. Aithusa wagged her tail in outrage, trying to wriggle out from Arthur’s iron grip. When Morgana told him that Arthur had no clue about children and animals in general, he didn’t think it would be this bad.

“Arthur, please.” Merlin gave a little laugh and extended his hands out for Aithusa to jump into after Arthur pulled such an offending move on her.

“See? Perfectly fine.” Merlin grabbed by her middle and practically pushed her into Arthur’s face but retreated when Aithusa, still angry with Arthur, extended her tiny claws and made to scratch at his face. Damn Aithusa for having great aim; she got Arthur on his jaw and left a thin but quickly reddening red mark there. Merlin liked Arthur’s face the way it was and he really couldn’t have her ruining it for him.

“Shit, sorry about that.”

Aithusa jumped down from his arms as he stood up and sat in front of the pair of them, eyeing them with curiosity.

Merlin fussed over Arthur, his index finger trailing Arthur’s jawline and lingered on the thin red wound there. He rubbed his finger gently over the mark; the cup of his finger catching on the days old stubble on Arthur’s jaw.

“Merlin?”

Merlin has always liked the clean shaven Arthur and that was probably because that was the version of Arthur he often saw, but seeing Arthur like this was rather hot, to say the least. Merlin’s hand wandered up and he traced the seam of the lips; the buttery soft feeling so unlike the rough stubble on the jaw. He wondered how it would feel if he were to press his rougher lips on them. He leaned in. Merlin thought his lips might catch on Arthur’s just like his finger caught on the stubble but he was proven wrong. Kissing Arthur was unlike anything else. It was unlike getting his first kiss from Gwen after she kissed him in relief when she had thought he had drowned in the river at their old camp. Kissing Arthur felt like fitting himself in the perfect mold and feeling whole. Merlin gasped when he felt Arthur pressing his lips right back, reciprocating the kiss and even deepening it. Arthur sunk his hand into Merlin’s floppy hair, drawing him forward and Merlin felt  _home_. He suckled at Arthur’s bottom lips, feeling a gush of warm air when Arthur’s ragged breathing blew against his skin. Arthur was just parting his lips, tongue delving into Merlin’s mouth when a soft meowing shocked them apart.

Aithusa clawed at the hem of Merlin’s trousers and began to meow louder. “Um, I think she’s hungry.“ Merlin let out a nervous laugh; his lips still tingled from feeling the sensation of Arthur’s lips on his. Aithusa bumped her nose against Merlin’s legs, her big eyes looking expectantly up at him. Merlin smiled down at her. “Being young and cute really gets you anything, hmm?”

“Yeah, young indeed," Arthur mumbled.

But when Merlin chanced a glance his way, Arthur wasn’t looking at Aithusa at all but rather at him. His cheeks were rapidly losing colour, almost turning ashen.

“Arthur?” Merlin reached out to touch his arm but Arthur drew his arm away.

Arthur pushed his hand through his hair, making the blond hair strands sticking out in the front. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Look, this—this should have never happened.”

_What?_

Merlin was confused. “What is that supposed to mean, Arthur?”

“You’re just sixteen, Merlin.” Arthur sounded resigned. “Sixteen,” he repeated, “you’re practically still a child.”

Again, treating him like the damn child that he wasn’t anymore. “What the fuck? Are you for real?” He couldn’t really mean it. Three years was nothing!

"Arthur.“ When Arthur failed to take notice of him or more like, ignored him; Merlin raised his voice. “Arthur, look at me.” Arthur was being a prat, refusing to talk things through with him. “Don’t you think I deserve better than this?” He had never pegged Arthur for a coward nor someone to lead anyone on.

Arthur slammed his hand against the wall, making Aithusa jump up in surprise and flit away. His face blotched with anger. “Exactly, you deserve much better than this which is why nothing can ever happen between us.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Merlin hissed. “Your parents were at least fifteen years apart. Fifteen years, Arthur. So stop beating yourself up over these meager three years between us.”

“My mother was twenty-one when they met!” Arthur took a deep breathe, dragging his face down his face. His knuckles were bruised from his outburst seconds before; Arthur hadn’t even realized that he had hurt himself. He looked exhausted when he raised his voice again. “Weren’t you always complaining that I was treating you like a child? Can’t you just be mature enough this one time and let it rest?”

Merlin gritted his teeth. Of course Arthur would pull such a dick move to get rid of him. ”Fine, have it your way then.”

Merlin left and slammed the door behind him because, yes, he was just that mature. Stupid Arthur.

 

 

Merlin thought nursing heartbreak with the help of his friends would have involved (too much) chocolate ice cream and huddling beneath thick blankets, marathoning Jane Austen movies; and not, he grumbled, being dragged around the city to shop for things that weren’t even for him.

First he experienced his first heartbreak (it sucked) and the following week, Kilgharrah got adopted. It was a good thing; really, Merlin had already begun to lose all hope for Kilgharrah but then Morgana brought the good news to him, out of nowhere. Kilgharrah was already gone before he could say goodbye to him. If only he hadn’t taken a break to dwell in his lovesickness. Merlin missed him terribly, especially now.

“I actually thought you’d be the first one to get the gift ready, Gwen. Just get her a vouchers or something.” Merlin sighed. He absolutely hated shopping, running from store to store for endless hours only to come back to the first store and pick up the first thing they touched. Merlin wasn’t too fond of birthdays but Sefa’s birthday was coming up and Gwen was still empty handed. Thankfully, Sefa wasn’t only their close friend but also his coworker which made her nervous tick all the more obvious to him what with spending so many hours with her caring for the animals in the shelter. While Merlin knotted his hands together when he got nervous, Sefa tended to brush stray hair strands behind her ear.

Gwen rolled her eyes. “That’s the most thoughtless present ever.” But Merlin had to disagree; the coffee vouchers Morgana got him for working for her for six months already brought him to Arthur even though Merlin wondered whether she had just wanted to get rid of them. The thing was, Arthur had trotted on any hope Merlin had of pursuing anything romantic with him, but lately Arthur kept reappearing at the shelter. He even made friends with Lance who volunteered every saturday. Though once Merlin was in the room, he’d go very quiet, cutting off the hushed conversation he always held with Morgana leaving Merlin annoyed and confused. He shook his head and did his best to banish any lingering thoughts of Arthur from his mind.

Merlin sneezed when Gwen meant to try the perfume bottle on her wrist but accidentally sprayed it past his ear. Gwen decided on a bottle of perfume after she needled him for any hints Sefa might have slipped for any things she might have liked to get. Merlin probably shouldn’t have mentioned that she had complained that she had a hard time getting the stench off of her clothes after cleaning the litter boxes.

Gwen grabbed another bottle and had the mind to step away from him before she tried the next bottle on one of the paper slips the shop had prepared. “I should have thought of getting her a hair pin.” Thank god he begged and whined at crafty Freya until she made him one of her famous jewelry accessories; otherwise he’d be the one in Gwen’s shoes. Well, his current position of being the friend who got dragged around wasn’t any better.

“She’s working in an animal shelter, Gwen. Sefa likes being around animals and I’d doubt she’d like to put their sensitive noses to a test by putting on perfume.“ He should have thought of that sooner, it might have saved his nose from falling off after losing the fight to the waft of all the flowery smells. His friend Will could have stuck his smelly socks under his nose and he probably wouldn't have noticed it. Merlin only managed to go two steps towards the entrance of the shop when Gwen grabbed his arm and dragged him to another counter. When he noticed the ad with the male model he took a closer look at the perfume bottles which turned out to not actually be perfume but rather cologne, and his brows knit together in confusion.

“Um, Gwen? You do realize these are for men? Wait, you’re not actually rubbing the fact that you have a boyfriend while Sefa’s still single under her nose by getting her one of these?!”

This comment only earned him a light slap to the back of his head. “What do you think of me? Really now, Merlin.” Gwen shook her head in disbelief. “I only stopped because I saw them selling Lance’s cologne. You know how hard it is to get it.” No, he actually didn’t.

“Do you want to try it?” But before he could say no, Gwen already sprayed him with it, causing Merlin to cough and sneeze. Scratch that, he didn’t hate gift shopping, but rather getting perfume down his throat. At least Gwen had the decency to look apologetic or so Merlin thought through the mist of his tears in his eyes.

“Let’s just stick to vouchers, Gwen,” he wheezed.

 

 

Where in the past Arthur would join him when he had his break, the Arthur now did everything in his power to avoid Merlin. Aside from the polite treatment and occasional nod when Merlin lined up for his coffee, he barely acknowledged his existence. Hell, whenever he lined up during what just happened to be Arthur’s shift, Arthur would find excuses to retreat to the storage room and push him off to Gwaine and sometimes even to Leon who was his fucking supervisor. Merlin was irritated. Being a coward really didn’t suit Arthur.

Merlin only meant to collect his coffee in the front when Arthur passed by him. He probably hadn’t even seen Merlin since he was too preoccupied with loosening the knot of the apron around his waist; he bumped into a Merlin who coincidentally chose this exact moment to turn around. Thankfully, the lid stayed on his coffee cup when Merlin’s nose bumped into Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur caught him easily even though Merlin wasn’t that light despite his rather skinny frame but he must have caught on to who was in his arms because he hugged Merlin a bit tighter, hand moving to the small of his back before realizing what he did and letting go as if he'd been burned.

“Seriously?” Merlin rolled his eyes. He meant to turn around and away from Arthur who probably couldn’t have felt more relieved at getting rid of Merlin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Well, if Arthur was planning to stick to his plan of treating Merlin like the pest, he was obviously doing it wrong. Merlin let out an surprised gasp when he not only felt Arthur leaning it, the hand on his shoulder getting heavier but also the fact that Arthur was sniffing him. What the hell?

“Arthur?” Merlin tried to move back a bit to get a better look at him but Arthur moved with him, his nose practically buried in the crook of Merlin’s neck. “Um, what exactly are you doing, Arthur?”

Ignoring his question, Arthur looked at him with livid eyes, already opening his mouth to yell obscenities at Merlin for whatever reason but he thought better of it and yanked at Merlin’s arm, dragging him behind him.

“Come with me.”

Like he had a choice.

 

He pushed Merlin against the wall in the dark floor between the shop and the storage room, drawing a pained groan out of him.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Arthur?!”

“With  _me_?” Arthur said, exasperated, and threw the question right back. “What the hell is wrong with _you_? What do you expect me to think when,” he gestured wildly towards Merlin’s chest and neck, “your entire body smells of Lance.” He probably didn’t realize it in his rage that he rubbed his hands frantically over Merlin’ shoulders and arms, face so close that Merlin could feel the warm puffs of breath on his face when Arthur said Lance’s name like he would a curse. It then dawned on Merlin that Arthur was unconsciously trying to chase Lance’s smell away and replace it with his own. It was both endearing and infuriating.

“What is it to you whom I choose to be with? You clearly showed me that you’d never even consider me. A  _kid_.” Merlin spat the last words out with contempt. He pushed against Arthur’s chest but Arthur didn’t budge; there was hardly any space between them.

“Shut up,” Arthur hissed.

“Lance would never care about three fucking years!” And it was true, Gwen and Lance were in the very same position as them but their relationship never tripped over such a ridiculous thing. And Lance? Lance always meticulously followed his sense of justice even though it didn’t benefit him most of the time. Seriously, why did he have to fall in love with someone who was even more stupid with obsessing over chivalry. Chivalry was dead. Ha fucking ha, that trait was accumulated in Arthur Pendragon like it would be in a knight; chivalry to the point of stupidity. “Why can’t you be more like Lance? Forego doing what you think is right and proper and take what you actually want for yourself!”

“Shut up!” His grip on Merlin’s arm became painfully tight and he slammed Merlin against the wall, startling him. “Don’t say his name,” Arthur breathed against his neck. “Don’t you dare say his name again.” Merlin choked back a sound when Arthur licked the sensitive skin on his neck; he could probably hear the rapid beat of Merlin’s heart pulsing through his veins. Merlin’s heart was somersaulting when he felt teeth scraping against his neck; Arthur bit down. He slung his arm around Arthur’s neck, holding on for dear life when he sucked on Merlin’s neck. Dear god.

“Arthur.” Merlin actually whined when he drew back and rested his forehead on Merlin’s shoulder. “I'm serious, Merlin. Stop tempting me.” He remembered no such thing but if that meant he got a repeat performance of just now, he’d gladly do it again, whatever it was.

“Yeah? Tell me what it is I've done to tempt you so I can file it back for later.”

Arthur let out a humourless laugh. “I mean it, you really have to stop. I can’t allow myself to have you.”

Here they went again.

“Why not?” Merlin might have sounded like a whiny little brat but he couldn’t care less. Arthur really knew when to choose the wrong moment to be noble.

“You’ll know when you grow up. Sometimes you can’t have everything you want.”

“But I’m all grown up now.” He grabbed Arthur’s hand, entwining their fingers. At least this time, Arthur didn’t pull away from him; a vast improvement from last time where he practically bolted when Merlin reached out to him. Arthur’s fingers were ice cold, his were probably as well. Merlin wondered how long they were outside.

“Not yet,” Arthur gave him a half-hearted smile, reached up to his collar to righten it, probably to hide the darkening bruise he'd made. His fingers lingered a bit too long on Merlin’s collarbones to be an accident. Merlin sighed. If he’d only been born a few years earlier, they wouldn’t have this problem at all.

 

 

If Merlin wanted to drown his sorrow in alcohol, Gwaine would always be the answer. The only problem?

Merlin was a lightweight.

No really, just a whiff of cider was enough to make him feel woozy and the worst part; Merlin became a touchy-feely blabbermouth. Gwaine seemed to be highly amused by this revelation and was dick enough to even take advantage of it and worm quite a few embarrassing secrets out of him. As such, he was privy to Merlin’s revelation to his sexuality being thanks to his childhood friend Lance (unbeknownst to Lance, that was). Said friend was also used as wanking material in the form of a photo he secretly snapped of Lance changing out of his sweaty t-shirt.

“I think I’ve got enough blackmail material should the day come when you’re rich and famous and I’m just a guy stripped of every luxury but my beauty.” Gwaine took the can of beer out of his tight grip and placed it back on the coffee table.

“Oh yeah? What would I be famous for?” Merlin, already having turned into a giggling mess, leaned his head on Gwaine’s shoulder. He turned his head towards Gwaine’s neck, pleased when he could smell a hint of coffee beans under the musk and his earthy cologne. Arthur always smelled like coffee, lighter and sweeter than Gwaine’s sharp and strong one.

“I don’t know. A crazy cat lady with his own t.v show maybe. Well, cat boy in your case.”

Merlin laughed. Being with Gwaine was easy, uncomplicated and falling in love with him, Merlin thought, probably wouldn’t give him such heartbreak. Merlin told him as much.

Gwaine’s whole body vibrated with laughter. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about ‘easy’. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t turn you down but your mum would sure as hell slaughter me when she’d hear about her darling boy being corrupted by some random bloke off the street.”

“Not true.” Merlin took his head off Gwaine’s shoulder, even though his head protested, if the building headache was anything to come by. The arm under his hand was firm, all muscles and taut skin stretching over it. Gwaine was very fit and was without doubt, one of the most handsome men he'd ever met. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Merlin leaned forward, pressing his body to Gwaine’s warm chest, and kissed him. He didn’t know what he’d expected from kissing Gwaine, especially since he hadn't planned on it, but it felt anticlimactic somehow; Merlin didn’t necessarily like it nor did he hate it. The taste of beer in Gwaine’s mouth was pungent when he parted his lips; and suddenly, Merlin felt really, really sad. He didn’t even realize when Gwaine pulled away and held his face between his hands.

“Merlin, you’re very charming but—“

Merlin closed his eyes, wishing he could close his ears to any sound as well. “Not you too.”

Gwaine sighed. “You know, if you weren’t drunk and Arthur wouldn’t rip my head off if he heard about this, I’d go for it in an instant. Morals be damned.”

“Arthur doesn’t care about me,” Merlin scoffed.

This only drew another sigh out of sigh. “Look Merlin, I don’t want to meddle too much in both your affairs, but Arthur cares a great deal about you. So much so that he has to force himself to stay away from you. Give him some credit.” He took the throw from the couch’s other end and gently pushed Merlin into a sleeping position, placing a pillow under his head. Merlin hadn’t even realized how tired he was until Gwaine wrapped the throw over his limp body. His eyes drooped, heavy with sleep. Gwaine’s words were barely audible in his state.

“Seriously, Arthur treasures you way too much, it’s almost sickening. You should consider doing the same with yourself.”

 

 

When Merlin entered the coffeeshop, the business seemed to be rather slow today with only four other customers besides him here. He could hear the mellow sounds of  _Yellow Submarine_  playing in the background. And Arthur was back to ignoring Merlin, averting his eyes when he saw Merlin enter. He felt the stab of hurt but Arthur wasn’t the reason why he was here today.

Merlin meant to apologize to Gwaine for last night’s behavior earlier but after he woke up, realizing his rather embarrassing behaviour after a moment of disorientation, Gwaine had already left for work.

He thought their first encounter after Merlin’s dreadful behavior would be rather awkward but give it to Gwaine to ease Merlin’s tension instantly. When Gwaine entered from the back and his eyes landed on Merlin, he had a face splitting grin on.

“Jailbait!”

Merlin groaned it embarrassment.

Gwaine jumped over the counter, all etiquette forgotten, drawing an exasperated cry from Arthur and a surprised gasp from a nearby lady. Sometimes he really wished he had Gwaine’s boldness but when he remembered that he did have said boldness thanks to all the alcohol and what it led him to do, he was glad he didn’t have it. Gwaine threw an arm over his shoulder in easy camaraderie. “Sorry for leaving you alone to wake up but you know,” he nodded his head towards the counter where Arthur was eyeing the pair of them with narrowed eyes, “lots of work to do.”

Merlin shrugged it off. “It’s fine, really. I only came here to apologize—” But he didn’t get to finish his sentence as Gwaine pushed Merlin’s head forward lightly and ruffled his already tousled hair.

“Aren’t you a cute one, Merlin? Hey, did you know you smile when you sleep?”

He only had a few moments to bathe in Gwaine’s comfort before he heard glass shattering. Surprised and also a bit shocked, Merlin’s head whipped up to the source of the noise, only to see Arthur’s darkened eyes looking straight back at him. He gulped.

“Woah, easy there, mate.” Gwaine dashed forward and repeated his graceful slide over the counter to look for any damage. Merlin hesitated for a moment but made to follow.

He gasped when he leaned over the counter with curious eyes. “Arthur! Are you alright?” There, on the floor lay shreds of shattered glass but what really drew Merlin’s concern was the blood dribbling from the white towel in Arthur’s hand, staining it crimson red.

“Perfectly fine,” Arthur said between gritted teeth. He stepped aside as Gwaine bent low to pick the mess up from the floor with his bare hands. Merlin jumped when he heard Gwaine calling his name, too focused on Arthur’s wound. “Merlin, can you go with Arthur to the back? The first aid kit is under the sink.”

“Yeah, sure,” he stammered out. He went around the counter and dragged a rather unwilling and grumbling Arthur with him. The break room was bigger than he expected, not at all like the dimly lit storage room, he thought it would be. If Arthur weren’t hurt, Merlin would have laughed at the actual round table in the middle of the room with the makeshift name plates out of paper and one of the chairs even had a rather impressive scrawl of a crown in gold marker on it. But Arthur was hurt and Merlin needed to take care of him first and foremost.

The first aid kit was easily located just as Gwaine had said but Arthur was still uncooperative. Arthur stood awkwardly his side, still clutching to the ruined towel. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Look, I had my hand around the towel when I accidentally crushed the glass.” He didn’t believe Arthur but when went to his side to take a good look, Arthur really was mostly fine. There were scratches here and there and also some slightly deeper wounds with small bits of glass still stuck in them but for the most part, Arthur’s hand was fine.

“Your wound still has to be cleaned and taken care of.” Merlin gently pulled Arthur by his wrist to the chairs for them to sit. Merlin wasn’t fazed by such a wound, carefully picking the pieces of glass out with a tweezer. He'd had endless practice with Will who used to be all kinds of clumsy as a child.

Arthur coughed and cleared his throat and for a moment, Merlin thought it would be because he was trying to mask his pain over with noise but Arthur’s face showed no sign of pain, more like embarrassment and discomfort.

“So, um, you and Gwaine?”

Ah right, of course it would lead to this. Arthur was probably going on about how everyone was too old for him.

“What of it?” Merlin’s voice turned cool.

“Aren’t you moving a bit too fast?” Arthur stared down his hand, where Merlin began to wrap his wound after disinfecting it.

Was Arthur seriously thinking what he thought? Did he really think that he had slept with Gwaine after Arthur had turned Merlin away again? Merlin felt insulted that he would think his feelings for Arthur so shallow and short lived.

“What? First I’m too young and now you think I’m apparently too loose?” He had to keep himself from letting his anger seep into his actions and wrap the bandage too tight, even though he felt like strangling Arthur with it. “What do you even want from me?”

“I just want you to be happy, Merlin.” Arthur said softly.

“Can’t I be happy with you?”

Arthur’s silence was enough of an answer for him.

 

 

“I like him and Arthur also seems to like me a great deal, so why is this so hard?” Merlin rested his forehead on Aithusa’s outstretched paw; at least there was someone out there who wanted to comfort him. Even though her eyes were already dropping with sleep. “Aithusa tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

“My god, you’re going to give poor Aithusa an inferiority complex.” Morgana curled her lips and scooped her in her arms with one hand, far away from Merlin’s pining. She gave Aithusa an affectionate rub over her head before bestowing a less kind look on Merlin and pressing a manila envelope into his hands. “No one wants to adopt depressed cats. Go and make yourself useful and check on Kilgharrah’s new home.”

Merlin frowned. “Isn’t this your job?” Normally, home visits were done by the actual workers and representative of their shelter and really, who would take an underage volunteer seriously when they come knocking on their door? But then again, he was curious about the person who took in such an old cat. It would probably be an elderly lady who didn’t mind if the animal wasn't a fluffball of cuteness and energy anymore. That seemed about right.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m going to do the home visit next week but I’m pretty sure Kilgharrah’s new daddy wouldn’t mind if an inexperienced staff worker checks up on him first.” Morgana sucked in her breathe when Aithusa woke up and clawed at her to get to Merlin. Because even in her sleep addled state, Merlin was still the focus of her world; which even Morgana had to begrudgingly acknowledge. Even when Morgana indulged her with toys and treats, once Merlin was in vicinity, Morgana only played second fiddle to him. If only the landlord would allow him to have pets, he’d adopt her in an instant. Well, at least Kilgharrah was well off now.

“A guy?” Merlin was surprised. Not an old cat lady then. He opened the clasp around the envelope and took the papers out, meaning to scan the application forms roughly for the address; only to stutter over the name of the applicant.

 _Arthur_ _Pendragon_.

 

 

He still couldn’t understand why Arthur had adopted Kilgharrah. While Merlin felt happy that Kilgharrah found a home at last, he was also extremely worried for his well-being. Arthur hardly knew anything about cats; let alone how to care for them. What hell was Arthur thinking?

He sighed. If he wanted answers, he’d have to face Arthur himself.

Merlin felt for the tiny submarine toy in his pocket and squeezed it for luck, before he pressed the doorbell.

“Door is open!”

And true to his words, the door gave in when Merlin pushed against it, letting him into the vast space of Arthur’s home. Merlin had expected lots of white with only a few specks of black here and there but instead, Arthur’s entire living room was decked in warm colours, lots of red and gold especially.

A rumbling noise got his attention, Kilgharrah’s purring.

He looked down to where the purring came from and true enough, Kilgharrah was curled into ball in front of him. What Merlin didn’t foresee was that he lay on top of Arthur’s naked back; Arthur who was doing push-ups before him, sweatpants low on his hips.

“Just give me a sec’, Morgana, I’m almost finished with my set.”

Ah. Arthur still hadn’t caught on that it was him. Morgana probably hadn’t even told him that Merlin would come over. Giving his recent behavior in Merlin’s company, Arthur might have actually barricaded himself into his room until Merlin left.

“I’m lacking the boobs to be Morgana, although I’ve been told that we look rather alike.”

“Merlin?!”

Arthur finally looked up; Kilgharrah came tumbling down when Arthur arched his back to look at him. He easily caught himself and gracefully landed on his paws. With a hiss, he retreated back to the room’s corner on a bean bag half the size Merlin was used to seeing and curled himself on it to nap. Arthur hastily stood up.

“Seems like you get around just fine." Merlin had noticed the cat tree behind the spacious couch and the already battered stuffed toys lying on the floor close to where Kilgharrah was sleeping now.

“Yeah, I got Morgana to help me," Arthur replied. He looked a bit unsure, scratching at the back of his head. No wonder, he was probably thinking of the easiest way to get rid of Merlin without being too harsh. Merlin could take a hint.

“Right. I think I’ll go now if everything’s fine.” Morgana was going to do the official home visit the next week, so leaving now should be alright.

Merlin turned around to leave but Arthur grabbed his hand, holding him back.

“What now? If you still have questions, just give Morgana a call.”

“No, it’s not about that.” Arthur was still holding onto his hand, maybe it was just Merlin’s imagination but it felt like Arthur grabbed his hand just a bit tighter. “I meant to ask you-, that is…“

Was Arthur going to reject him a third time? Merlin wouldn’t be able to take it.

“Look, I won’t bother—“

“Is Gwaine treating you alright?”

It took Merlin a second to process what Arthur had just said as they'd been talking at the same time.

“No!” Oh dear, Arthur was still under the misconception that he and Gwaine had slept together.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. “He’s not?!” He took hold of Merlin’s wrist and shoved Merlin’s sleeve a bit up; Arthur stroked his wrist and turned it left and right.

“My god, Arthur. Gwaine’s not abusing me!” Arthur’s eyebrows were still knitted together, not believing him a bit. Merlin grabbed Arthur’s face and held it between his hands. “Hell, Gwaine and I are not like that. We’re not even dating.”

“But Gwaine, I thought…” He looked at Merlin with big confused eyes.

Merlin sighed. “I already told you that I want to be with you,” Merlin said, insistently. “If you tell me outright that you can never see me that way, I’ll stop and I won’t bother you ever again, Arthur.” He knew Arthur liked him, very much even but he couldn't quite shake the fear that Arthur being Arthur wouldn’t just look him straight in the eye and tell him that he never wanted to see Merlin again. And what if it wouldn’t be a lie? Merlin would respect Arthur’s wishes and chin up, picking up the pieces of his broken heart from the floor.

Arthur leaned forward and he hid his face in Merlin’s neck. His weight was almost toppling Merlin over but he’d rather his leg break than lose the trust Arthur was putting into him with this simple gesture. “You’re playing dirty.”

Merlin turned his face to get a better view of Arthur but he could only make out tufts of blond hair. “Then, do you like me?”

Arthur’s laugh was muffled against Merlin’s neck. “Of course I do, I thought that was rather obvious.” He withdrew and Arthur looked much younger now, no longer stressed from hiding or lying. “You know, my reasons for rejecting you might not be entirely as selfless as I'd like them to be.”

Merlin frowned.

“There’s more?” If not for the age difference, what else was keeping Arthur from him?

“You’re still so young, Merlin. You’ll see the world, meet new people in college and get lots of wonderful new experiences. Where would I fit? I’d only hold you down.”

Merlin couldn’t believe his ears. The thought of Arthur feeling insecure felt too alien to him. “I’d never lose sight of you.”

“You can’t be sure of that.” Kilgharrah rumbled from the other corner of the room, seemingly just as displeased with how little confidence he put in Merlin.

Entwining their fingers, Merlin tried for humour and said, “You’re the owner of one of the moodiest and uncommitted pets I know of and you don’t want to give us a try?”

It seemed to work as Arthur loosened up and laughed, face no longer permanently bound to a sad frown. “Can’t argue with that.” Arthur brushed his lips over Merlin’s cheeks and let them ghost over Merlin’s. “...Alright, let’s try it.”

“Really?” Merlin felt giddy with excitement, swinging their clasped hands happily back and forth. “So where do we go from here?”

He felt Arthur’s eyes on him, and also the fond smile he kissed against Merlin’s neck. “Back to the roots, I guess. I could get you coffee?”

“Get me coffee? I think we’ve covered that.” Merlin pulled his lips downward, meaning to look displeased but his crinkling eyes betrayed him

"Well then, do you want to get _me_ coffee, Merlin?“

“You’re in luck. I know just the place, and I think the cute barista there might have a crush on me.“ Merlin looped his arms around Arthur’s neck. “With a bit of charm, he might give us a little discount, I think. “

Arthur laughed and leaned his forehead against Merlin’s. “Oh, yeah? And how about you? Do you fancy him?”

“Definitely, even though his taste for coffee sucks.“

 

 

On a tuesday, Merlin just fell a bit more in love with Arthur and his big innocent heart.

“Arthur, stop that,” Merlin reached out and held Arthur’s face between his hands. “I’m sixteen and therefore legal. Stop beating yourself up over that, okay? I consented to that.”

Sometimes, Merlin really wondered, how he could ever have thought that Arthur wasn’t lovely. Arthur, who was too noble and cared too much about courting Merlin the proper way. He felt like he was dating a gentleman from the last century. There were flowers, opening doors for him, pulling chairs out and very innocent goodbye kisses. To top it off, Arthur even insisted that Merlin call him when he reached his room after driving him home. Next thing he knew, Arthur would throw his jacket over a puddle and carry Merlin over it. Seriously, what did rich people teach their children? Though, Gwaine didn’t turn out over the top nor did Morgana. Well, mostly.

Arthur clasped his hands over Merlin’s. “No, you’re right. I’m being silly.” He gave Merlin a tentative smile, eyes still lowered. And wasn’t he just unbearably sweet?

“Good,” Merlin said, “otherwise I’d have to give you my consent in written form, all in the fancy typography you love.”

Arthur chuckled and pried Merlin’s hands gently from his way, only to lean forward against Merlin’s forehead. He sighed. “You know me too well. So tell me, what would you write?”

“Hmm. Maybe something along the lines of ‘Merlin not-jailbait Emrys would like Arthur dollophead Pendragon to please fuck him.’” He bet Arthur, who turned out to be a hopeless romantic, would cross the fucking part out and write ‘make love to’ right above it.

“How very eloquent you are.”

He could hear the smile in Arthur’s voice and nudged his nose against Arthur’s. Merlin took a deep breath, bathing in the comfort that was Arthur’s smell. They always tried to meet at least three times a week and on the days they didn’t, Merlin would send him silly messages and links throughout the day and Arthur would reply with pictures of his latte art. Sometimes of smileys or even a picture of a lopsided heart that started it all. But there was something he always noticed when he leaned in to kiss and embrace Arthur. Underlying the strong coffee smell, Merlin would smell the faint trace of vanilla. Vanilla on Arthur’s skin on lazy evenings watching movies, vanilla on Arthur’s clothes just before Merlin nodded off and on Arthur’s skin when they kissed. At first, he thought that the vanilla smell clung to Arthur’s every pore from working in the coffeeshop but one rainy day when he was completely drenched, he discovered a vanilla scented shampoo in the shower. So, apparently his boyfriend didn’t just have a sweet tooth.

Arthur slipped his hand under his shirt, touching his bare waist and drew lazy circles on it. “You don’t think I should meet your mother first?”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Shut up and kiss me.”

 

 

“Are you sure about this?”

Merlin sighed. It would have been too easy to get Arthur to simply agree with him. He was still hovering above Merlin and he basically reeked of his uncertainty from every pore. Besides kissing and groping Merlin’s arse, Arthur still had qualms about going any further than this. It wasn’t like Merlin wanted to make him do anything he didn’t feel up to, and if he didn't want it Merlin would have gladly put his trousers back on and put on a silly movie to watch with him. But if the bulge brushing against his abdomen was any given, Arthur wasn’t completely against defiling Merlin’s body.

“For god’s sake, Arthur. Just get on with it!” He kicked his jeans off his ankles and they pooled in a heap next to the king sized bed. But Merlin couldn’t care less where they fell because Arthur was still fully dressed and he didn’t like it one bit. Therefore, he proceeded to yank at Arthur’s collar, stretching the neckline beyond repair. He lapped at the salty skin there, nuzzling against his neck and finding the familiar vanilla scent there. “Come on. Off with the clothes. Play fair.”

“So bossy.” Arthur chuckled but gave in and pulled the ruined shirt off, throwing it over his shoulder. “I actually liked that shirt.”

It wasn’t like Merlin has never seen Arthur naked since Arthur himself offered plenty opportunities for that by undressing his upper body for the silliest excuses to not so subtly impress Merlin with his ripped body. ‘Oh look, Merlin. A button has come loose; I need to get my shirt off now.’

Still, however outrageous silly Arthur’s excuses were, Merlin would never ever tell him off for stripping out of his shirts any time soon. No one would be stupid enough for that.

Give it to Arthur to ruin the moment by asking, “Do we need a safe word?”

Merlin rolled his eyes in annoyance; it wasn’t like they were doing S&M. “Well, how about ‘Arthur has a tiny dick’?” He drew his knee forward and rubbed it gently against Arthur’s erection, drawing a groan out of him.

“I do not.”

“Prove it.” Merlin drawled.

A grin adorned Merlin’s face when he heard Arthur huff in disbelief. “You cheeky little brat.” Arthur clawed at his belt until it came off and ripped his jeans off him like a madman. He pressed his cock, still clad in his black briefs, against Merlin’s arse.

Merlin grinned.

Now they were getting somewhere.

 

 

"Why has no one told me how good this feels?”

 He gasped when Arthur sneaked the tip of a finger in, his gaping hole stretched with Arthur’s tongue and finger inside him. Merlin’s vision swam with dizziness. He couldn’t understand how Arthur could have withheld something so wonderful from him. Merlin sighed; he seriously needed to have a good talk with Arthur about it. But later; everything could wait until later when he would be thoroughly sexed up and too blissed out to even sit or get angry with Arthur, and especially not when he added another finger, all the while licking and sucking his arse. The sounds Arthur was making were just plain obscene; they went straight to his cock.

Merlin moaned. He wanted to take himself in his hand and vigorously jerk away; seeing Arthur strutting half-naked through his flat for the last few weeks led to Merlin making great friends with his right hand. Sometimes, he’d lock himself in Arthur’s bedroom while Arthur showered, and burrowed his nose deep down, breathing in the fresh smell that was so very Arthur. He was even a big enough pervert that he got off it knowing Arthur was in the next room, pressed for time to get his release until the doorknob turned.

He settled for rutting against the mattress even though the friction was nowhere enough. Too rough, too dry and too cold.

Arthur was slickening his fingers with lube; kissing words of affection on each knob of his spine before he breached Merlin. The blunt fingers felt too big and too much; Merlin made distressed noises and wanted to pull away but Arthur stroked his hips, soothed him and Merlin endured the pain. The pain didn’t last long though and Arthur’s fingers no longer felt like an intrusion. Even more, he clenched around them, keeping them in place.

“Go on. I can take more,” Merlin moaned, face burrowing in the pillows.

“You sure?” Arthur leaned forward and kissed his shoulder, brushing his nose against the hair curling on Merlin’s neck. Merlin gritted his teeth. Arthur being so sweet and affectionate to him while preparing him were a deadly combination to Merlin.

He panted, hips snapping against the mattress faster now and said, “Just do it.”

Arthur put the condom on, deliberately slow or not, Merlin didn’t know; all he knew was that Arthur Pendragon was a fucking tease. And seriously, how the hell was it possible that Arthur still had the will to hold himself back?

Fuck that, Merlin was going to break his will.

He leaned down and forward until he was bereft of Arthur’s fingers, leaving a slick and warm trail on his inner thigh as the fingers brushed the skin there. Merlin wouldn’t mourn the feeling of loss too long though; he turned over and clambered over a surprised Arthur and straddled his thighs.

“The age seems to get to you, Arthur. So slow.” Merlin angled his arse over Arthur’s cock with little difficulty, so that he could sink right into it. He had to do it slowly; apparently two fingers were still not enough preparation for the bluntness of Arthur’s cock. Merlin went for provocation when Arthur was still too surprised to pull into action. “Not enough stamina?”

Arthur’s mouth thinned at that and he said in mock-rage. “And you wonder why I didn’t want to initially date you.” He snapped his hips forward when Merlin finally got accustomed to Arthur’s girth and fully engulfed it; and Merlin moaned loudly.

“What were you saying again, Merlin?” Pleased with himself, he did it over and over again until Merlin became a sobbing mess; only able to clutch at Arthur’s shoulders for leverage.

Like he’d give Arthur the satisfaction of having the last word. “Is this all you got?”

“Careful, Merlin.” Never one to back to back down from a challenge, Arthur grabbed his hips and pulled all the way out until only the tip was brushing against Merlin’s entrance. He had only time to bite his lip in anticipation before Arthur buried himself all the way in and fucked relentlessly into him, leaving him unable to come up with any kind of retort. Merlin grabbed his cock with shaky hands and gave it a few rough pulls, foregoing any rhythm before he came.

Arthur must have too as his face crunched for a moment and smoothed out altogether, before Merlin even had time to brush Arthur’ sweaty fringe out of his face. Arthur was still catching his breath, chest heaving; but he was smiling the most serene smile Merlin had ever seen on him. “Good?”

“Very.” He let his tongue poke at Arthur’s lips until he opened up and Merlin could kiss him in earnest.

If only they could stay in bed all day.

 

 

“What’s that?” Merlin rubbed at his sleepy eyes and groped blindly for the envelope Arthur placed on his chest.

“Open it,” Arthur urged him, smoothing his bed hair down.

From the six weeks they were already together, Arthur learned quite a few things from observing his boyfriend. Merlin turned into a slob whenever an animal was anywhere within eyesight, forgetting everything around him and the worst part of it was that forgetting everything around him included ignoring Arthur. Sometimes he thought of being petty and giving Kilgharrah to his elderly neighbor upstairs just to have Merlin for himself but then he thought better of it when he saw Merlin, eyes shiny and cheeks rosy when he dangled the mouse toy in front of Kilgharrah who pawed at it from his hind legs. Then there was the fact that Merlin liked to steal his hoodies for wear, apparently because Merlin didn’t have anything to wear. Though Arthur liked to disagree because Merlin had plenty to wear, just no time to wash and iron his shirts. But he rather liked seeing him in them; maybe he could get him to wear his old jersey with his name printed on the back? But the one thing he liked the most was seeing Merlin who was usually an early riser, sleep in. His hair an even greater mess than usual and lips always slightly open. Today was one of these days.

“What, did you already set up the marriage contract?” Merlin joked as he unfastened the string serving as a seal.

“Don’t be silly, Merlin.”

When he heard the surprised gasp, Arthur knew his present was a success. He reviewed the paperwork some weeks earlier with Morgana and even made her mail him Merlin’s shift schedule for the following weeks, so he could familiarize himself with Aithusa without Merlin knowing. She was awfully sweet and friendly when he stroked her fur, leaning her head against his palm to rub her nose against it. Arthur fell in love with her.

“Arthur, that’s an application for a cat’s adoption,” Merlin exclaimed in awe. He probably didn’t expect him to take another cat it, not when Kilgharrah’s arrival was still so recent. His eyes were wide awake now and he scrambled forward to Arthur, feet tangling in the blanket in his haste. But Arthur caught him with ease, already used to an overexcited Merlin from weeks of waking up with him.

He rubbed at Merlin’s skin from where his shirt has ridden up. He was soft and warm from sleep and Arthur sighed, content. “I take it you liked my present?”

“Liked? I love it!” Hands snaking around Arthur’s neck, Merlin leaned it to brush his lips against Arthur’s. Before Arthur could deepen the innocent swept of lips into a kiss, Merlin turned away and scrambled for the bedside table, leaving Arthur bereft and confused. So that was unexpected. According to Arthur’s impeccable plan, Merlin was supposed to fawn all over him, suck his soul out with mind blowing deep kisses and maybe suck something else down there.

It was as though Merlin had read his mind because when he looked up, Merlin tipped back a glass of water on the table and commented afterwards. “Morning breath.”

“Like I care”, he huffed and drew Merlin back into a kiss, sinking his hands into Merlin’s floppy black hair, soft and comforting like the kiss they shared. Arthur swept his tongue over the seam of Merlin’s lips and Merlin allowed him in. He closed his eyes, smiling into the kiss as Merlin punched lightly against his chest. Probably tasting the sweet concoction Merlin refused to call coffee. There was a scraping noise at the door but Arthur ignored it in favour of kissing Merlin senseless, preferably until his lips fell off. Sadly, Merlin didn’t share his mindset, perking up to the noise and withdrawing from him once again. He sighed.

“Kilgharrah!” Merlin exclaimed. Right, once there was a cat, Arthur was instantly forgotten. Stupid old cat. “Oh god, I have to tell him the good news. He’s going to have his lady friend again now!” A facesplitting grin adorned Merlin’s face, making him even younger than he already was. Well, at least he was legal, right?

Merlin jumped up from the bed and ran towards the door, and as expected, Kilgharrah was sitting obediently in front the door, licking at his paw when Merlin ripped the door open. When Merlin meant to scoop him up in his arms, Kilgharrah turned on his tail, leaving Merlin to run after him, chattering mindlessly about the newest addition to their home.

Not again. With a groan, Arthur plopped face down into the bed but instead of being greeted with the softness of the mattress, something poked against Arthur’s face. Merlin’s sock bundle.

“ _Mer_ _lin_ ,” he bellowed. In vain, as Arthur could hear Merlin’s happy laughter from the living room, probably entertaining the cat with the patchy mouse toy.

He stared down at the mismatched sock bundle. One entirely black and the other one striped in blue and orange. And no, Arthur was not going to think them endearing and put them away for Merlin. Not again.

“Put your socks away!”

“Later!”

Arthur sighed.

It would be a hard competition for Merlin’s attention when Aithusa would come.

 


End file.
